working under the fuel tank questions

[Fredfox]

Ok, I am doing a fuel line refresh and painting the fuel tank after reading about rusted tanks.
Mine is fine, however the fuel lines were brittle and leaking, would this affect the way it runs? It starts right up, idles fine, but when I accelerate it pops and hesitates, after revving up it hits on all 4 and runs ok.

I am planning on pulling and going over the motor, seals, bearings, valves and rings.
I also have a set of intake manifolds that came with the car, they have a carb attached, I will post pictures later.
Would it be better to put those on and do away with the Djet?
Any ideas?

Also,

The wiper motor needed replaced while I was there,
Now, the rubber support was broken that goes between the wiper mount and the firewall,
how do you get to it on the inside of the car?


Thanks in advance.

[LevisJeanz]

I just switched from the djet to carbs but only because I wasn't able to troubleshoot the fi system. Everything I have read and heard is that carbs are insanely easy to get up and running but if you can get the fi system to work you should stick with that. It will give you a little more power, better fuel economy and a more uniform torque and power curve.

[TheCabinetmaker]

Originally Posted by Fredfox

Ok, I am doing a fuel line refresh and painting the fuel tank after reading about rusted tanks.
Mine is fine, however the fuel lines were brittle and leaking, would this affect the way it runs? It starts right up, idles fine, but when I accelerate it pops and hesitates, after revving up it hits on all 4 and runs ok.

I am planning on pulling and going over the motor, seals, bearings, valves and rings.
I also have a set of intake manifolds that came with the car, they have a carb attached, I will post pictures later.
Would it be better to put those on and do away with the Djet?
Any ideas?

Also,

The wiper motor needed replaced while I was there,
Now, the rubber support was broken that goes between the wiper mount and the firewall,
how do you get to it on the inside of the car?


Thanks in advance.

Leak unless they are big enough to starve her of fuel should not cause running issues.

get it fixed however as there is a risk of fire. don't park in a garage with any leaks, keep it outside away from ignition sources.

The poor running does not indicate you need a rebuild. You may simply need to tune the injection system, and repair broken injection parts, fix intake leaks and such. don't pull apart the motor based on these symptoms you may end up wasting time and money. if she leaks oil form the crank shaft seals, then by all means replace the seals, but again this not reason to rebuild the motor.
If you have bad compression, low oil pressure then that may be a reason to rebuild, maybe.

Keep the stock injection system. carbs can be difficult to tune right, and require more maintanence to keep in tune. The injection system works very well and as pointed out will generally deliver better performance, better mileage, better drivability, retain vehicle value by a lot, and keep the motor cleaner. Dual carbs often will make more noise too carbed cars often will not be able to pass a smog test

In my opinion the OLNY reason to go with carbs is if you build a larger displacement motor that the D-Jet cannot handle. then go with carbs (or better still aftermarket injection!) I even id a slight bump up in displacement to 2.1 liter and have retained the D-jet.

there are some basic things to check if she is not running right. Before you even address the injection system.

make sure ignition is good, timing to specification, good cleaned and gapped plugs, test all the spark wires, make sure dwell is set right (points gap) make sure cap and rotor are good. make sure the vacuum advance /retard is working and vacuum leak free.

then you also need to make sure the valves are adjusted right, this is required maintenance every other oil change time (about 5-6K miles). make sure air filter is clean.

then check for intake leaks, use carb cleaner or ether spray to test for leaks, pay attention to the intake runner hoses and head to intake gasket and make sure all hoses are correctly installed and leak free.

Then you can move onto the injection system some basic things are making sure ground points are good, their is an important ground cluster near the flywheel end of the top of the engine case, make sure it is all clean and tight. the head temperature sendor can be tested with an ohm meter, it has to be right to run right, easy test (do a search for this test on this site) also make sure the manifold pressure sendor is leak free by sucking on its hose, it must hold vacuum. it's electrical plug must be tightly attached too.

these are basic things you can do to help fix your problems. take care of the basic stuff first, do not assume the injection is at fault, and if it is, it is often a simple thing to fix, just ask and you will be told how to.

If you don't have a good repair book, get the Haynes manual, it will a help a lot.

when the gas tank is out, clean and lube the front cowls fan, make sure its drain hoses flow freely. you cant get at this with the tank installed. also consider installing a fine mesh wire screen (painted black) under the louver, above the fan, this will keep small debries out.

before reinstall of the gas tank, test for water leaks at the cowl louvers. if water leaks into the trunk, the gas tank can rust when you re-install the dash fan, make sure its rubber gasket seals tightly and is water tight to the underside of the cowl.

when you re-install the wiper take time to lube the linkage and make sure the wiper shafts are installed such that the bushing stand above the water line of the little wells that the shafts protrude out of, else water will run into the bushings, rusting them and you will get water in the trunk (rusty gas tank, even a wet foot, drip on the peddle cluster) Use the two wiper shaft nuts to adjust the height of the wiper shaft sticking up out of the wells. renew the shaft rubber seals

for gas tank hoses, use the lined 30R9 hose, not the inferior 30R7 hose, the 30R9 is made to resist todays government mandated, corn lobby supported, rubber eating, lower performance, higher cost gasoline. use only solid band injection style hose clamps, not the clamps with serrated holes in the band. the ones with holes will loosen as rubber is extruded thru the holes.

at anyrate hold off on the rebuild till you can for sure determine the engine is really bad. since the motor does run it is highly unlikely that any major injection part is dead (ecu for example) if she runs and if it is an injection issue it is likely a simple fix. resist the temptation to install carbs, everyone I personally know with a 914's that did carbs, regretted carbs and has gone back to stock injection.

Please post on how you progress. we be here to help you.

[Fredfox]

thanks a million, Engine seems to have a slight noise, air pump does not turn and the belt is on and tight, what I mean is something on the front of the engine is not working.
But I cant seem to find the nut for the rubber support for the wiper motor, is there a trick? It is in the car under the dash somewhere I presume?

[TheCabinetmaker]

There is a nut under the instrument panel's passenger side that you need to remove to get out the wiper motor, do this from inside under the dash.

the engine noise could well be the smog pumps busted coupler which is causing it not to turn. also with the smog pump not running, you may be hearing exhaust gas back flowing thru the smog pumps injection system. if you run the car too much with the pump not blowing cool air thru the injection tubes, the tube will eventually clog up with exhaust residues. the pump and check valve can also be harmed. if you don't need to pass smog, remove the pump, the tubing and plug the smog holes with allen headed screws, I believe they might be able to be threaded into far, so bugger, I don't recall exactly, if they can, you don't want them to fall inside, so simply bigger up the top few threads to prevent them form going too deep.

If you need to pass smog, fix the pulley drive.

do not toss out the smog stuff, even if you dont need it now for testing. one day you may need it to pass smog if you move, or the laws change or if you sell the car

do a compression test to determine health of the motor, also get an oil pressure reading, and check valve adjustment, loose valves can make a lot of noise.

[Fredfox]

I am pulling the engine, Can the car be rolled around after? I assume yes if the wheels are left on, Please excuse the dumb questions as I am new to the 914

[TheCabinetmaker]

Yes the car can be moved without engine.

I Prefer to pull the engine and tranny as a unit, I find that easier. if you do that, hang the axles so they don't fling around. (I remove axles at tranny not wheels, easier to get at)

[Fredfox]

thank you